by Lily White
It was necessary, though.
I needed him distracted while I ran through the house gathering what I needed to escape this morning. I knew if he caught me looking for those clothes or going into the kitchen, he would follow me to see what I was up to.
Gabriel knows not to trust me even for a minute, which makes him smart in the long run.
But not smart enough.
Before setting off on what I needed to do, I set to work making sure he wouldn’t want to come anywhere near me.
Sadly, my plan worked better than expected, and even though I wasn’t serious about what I said, it makes me sad for him that he was so dead set against it.
Gabriel never had a girlfriend in high school, and from what Ava told me, he never had one in college either. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t playing. He is a guy, after all, but like the other guys, he’s expertly avoided becoming attached to anybody outside the Inferno.
While that would annoy most women and make them believe Gabriel is an assclown with a fear of commitment, I know his hesitancy to get close to someone is the truth he wants to hide about himself.
That’s why I brought up his emotional hang-ups when I asked to talk about something between us. It was a double-tap of objectionable topics, and he bought it, hook, line and sinker.
It gave me the opportunity to go through his wet pants that he’d taken off outside, his keys still in the pockets where he’d left them. And while going through his kitchen drawers after lying about stirring my ice, I’d snuck out a knife and took it up to my bedroom.
The next morning, I turned the shower on when the sun first came up, plugged the drain and let it run for over two hours. Doing so had been intentional, to cause a distraction, but also a slap back for everything Gabriel has done to me.
Watching out the window, I waited for the rest of the Inferno to arrive because I knew Gabriel had brought me to his house so that they all could corner me.
Laughing at his lie that Sawyer lived there, I climbed from the window that was conveniently located over a flat portion of the roof and made my way down as soon as the guys walked inside.
It didn’t take long to flatten their tires and haul ass in Gabriel’s car.
I’m now dedicating the way back to his place to memory. That information will come in handy at some point if he continues screwing with me.
Annoyed that I wouldn’t be able to take all of my bags with me, I’d rearranged the items last night and packed two with everything that was essential.
The question now is where do I go, and how do I stay off their radar once I get there?
My first stop has to be Emily’s since I left my purse and phone there last night after Gabriel tricked me into walking outside just so Sawyer could jump me.
Yes, I feel like a complete idiot for falling for that, especially after I’d done the same thing to Gabriel a little over a month ago, but I won’t fall for it twice.
From now on, I won’t let him get near me, and if the asshole manages to sneak up when I’m not paying attention (he has the insane ability to do that) then I’ll lock my feet in place and stay where other people can see me. It’s the only way to keep him from abducting me again.
As I make a right turn to take a bridge back toward the suburbs that are closer to the city, the Bluetooth rings in Gabriel’s car, my eyes snapping down to it in confusion.
I glance around the front seat and up on the dashboard, but I don’t see that he left his cell phone in the car.
Hitting the button on the steering wheel to answer the call, I say nothing, but wait to see how it’s even possible somebody is calling.
“Are you enjoying my car, love? I don’t recall giving you permission to take it for a test drive.”
His smooth voice pours through the speakers, and I know I’m talking to Fraud and not the real Gabriel.
It doesn’t mean I’m affected any differently. Everything about that silver tongue of his turns me on, and after last night, I now know its other talents. Thighs clenching as I drive, I smile sweetly even though he can’t see me.
“It’s quite nice, actually. Such a smooth ride, and the seats are insanely comfortable.”
He laughs. “I’m so glad. Although, after last night, I would have believed you’re more into rough rides than anything.”
Son of a bitch. The promise in his voice is enough to make my nipples hard.
“How are you calling me, Gabriel? There’s no phone in your car.”
“We all have our secrets, and if you’re planning on making any outgoing calls, it’s not possible.”
Damn it. That would have been convenient.
I don’t say anything, but his smooth voice rolls through the speakers again.
“Just so you know, I plan on spanking your ass for the mess you left in the house.”
“You’ll have to catch me first, and that will be a little difficult with so many flat tires.”
More laughter, the tone of it dark and haunting. I hate it when he’s like this, but secretly also love it.
“It won’t be too long before we see each other again. Tell Emily I say hello when you get there.”
I flip the lever for the turn indicator and hang a left.
“I’m not stupid enough to go back to her house.”
That’s exactly where I’m going, but I won’t stay long. I saw all of the Inferno boys at Gabe’s house before I left, so I know none of them can be waiting at Emily’s to grab me again.
“Ah, well I guessed you’d be racing there to get to your phone.”
Asshole. He knew I’d left it and probably intended for that to happen.
“I can buy another one.”
“With what money?”
I growl at the reminder.
As far as this game is going, Gabriel has the upper hand, but that doesn’t mean I’ll lie down and take it.
Tired of the conversation, I smile again as I pull into Emily’s neighborhood.
“It’s been nice catching up, Gabriel, but I need to let you go. Maybe we can do lunch sometime a few years from now. That is, if you ever find me again, of course.”
“You have no idea how much I look forward to it.”
My thumb hits the button to end the call after that, the car flying into Emily’s driveway and pulling around back.
She runs outside as soon as I shut off the engine and step out.
“I heard Gabriel got to you again. I am so sorry. If I’d known he was coming here, I would have stayed with you.”
Emily’s eyes flick to the car. “Whose is this?”
“It’s Gabriel’s.”
Her brows tug together, but a smile tugs at her lips.
“Really? He’s going to be so pissed.”
“He already is,” I confirm, “but I can’t stay here long. I need my purse and phone, and then I need to figure out somewhere to go where I can hide.”
Emily’s eyes widen and an evil expression takes over.
“If you don’t mind company, we can go to my parents’ cabin upstate. It’s only a two-hour drive and the twins don’t know about it.”
Fucking perfect.
“Then pack some clothes, and let’s get out of here. The guys won’t be able to leave their place for another few hours, so we’ll be long gone by the time they can chase after me.”
Laughter shakes her shoulders. “Do I even want to know what you did to accomplish that?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
We turn to walk to the house when I remember what I saw last night.
“Is your brother home?”
Emily groans and nods her head. “His friend’s never left, so I had to meet Ezra somewhere else instead of him coming here last night. Why?”
Gabriel was an idiot for knocking knuckles with Dylan. It only showed me that he had a spy in the one place I’d thought was safe.
“Because he’s friends with Gabriel, and he can’t know where we’re going.”
Shaking her head, Emily opens th
e door for me to walk through.
“Of course, he is. We’ll tell him we’re going to Ava’s. Obviously, Mason will be able to get it out of her that we’re not really there, but it’ll throw them off long enough for us to get to the cabin.”
It’s as good a plan as any, my legs pumping quickly to run down the hall in the direction of her room. I grab my purse and phone while she tosses clothes in a bag so we can haul ass out of the house again.
As I suspected, Dylan is in the front foyer as we run through.
“Where are you two going so fast? Is there a sale at Sluts-R-Us? A two for one on anti-fungal cream?”
Emily flashes him a nasty look, but I smile instead. “Actually, we know your birthday is coming up and thought we’d buy some matching glow in the dark butt plugs for you and your buddies to use the next time they spend the night. Do you prefer neon blue or pink?”
He grins at that. “I’m partial to green, if they have them. Thanks for that.”
“Any time.”
His eyes lock on Emily. “But seriously, where are you heading? I need a ride to Kennedy’s place since my car is wrecked.”
She rolls her eyes, especially because we both know he’s full of shit.
“We’re going to Ava’s, which is the opposite direction. Have one of your friends take you to Kennedy’s when they wake up.”
Dylan nods at that and pushes away from the wall he’d been leaning against. “Good to know. You two bitches have fun.”
“We will,” I call out as we race through the door and into the driveway.
Emily jumps in the passenger seat while I climb behind the wheel. The engine roars to life when I turn the key, and we are on the road on our way upstate within minutes.
When we reach the highway, Emily laughs and relaxes against her seat.
“So tell me. What did you do to escape Gabriel and steal his car?”
My lips curl at the corners.
“Only trashed his house and flattened the tires of every car he had in the driveway. All the Inferno boys were there, so they’re probably extremely pissed off at the moment.”
“Oh, shit. All of them? Even the twins and Tanner?”
“Yep,” I answer, knowing good and well that if they catch me, I’m a dead woman.
“Girl, we need to keep you hidden for the rest of your life. I’m sure I could talk the twins out of murdering you, but nobody will be able to convince Tanner to calm down.”
She’s right about that.
What she doesn’t realize is that Gabriel is just as bad as Tanner, if not worse.
If he finds me, he’ll make sure I’ll regret what I’ve done.
Reaching to turn on the radio, Emily rolls down her window and flashes me a devilish smile.
“We have nothing to worry about. My parents haven’t used the cabin since Dylan was really young. I highly doubt he remembers it.”
Praying she’s right, I hit the button for cruise control, set the speed, and settle in for the long drive.
Ivy
Only Gabriel could be the cause of me becoming a fugitive two times in one month. Both times after acting out against him, of course, because nobody else has the insane ability to push me to that edge.
Gabriel has dragged the entire spectrum of emotion out of me through the course of our lives, the majority of which are clumped on the darker side, better known as the side psychologists warn people should be avoided at all costs.
Concern. Anger. Pain. Hatred. Vengeance. Intolerance. Envy.
Only in brief moments has he knocked me sideways to the opposite side of the spectrum.
Admiration. Humor. Joy. Excitement.
Lust...
If I were writing out an actual list, I would bold and underline that last word, then strike it out because where it leads means absolute disaster.
That’s what Gabriel and I are and have always been.
A natural disaster.
A destructive calamity.
A storm so devastating that any person caught in its wake is left confused and stumbling.
To come between us is to become collateral damage, which is why nobody has dared step in to stop our war.
Not that we would let them.
I’m going to be honest with you, something Gabriel will never do.
We like the war.
Crave it.
Need it in a way that will never make sense to most people.
But only because it makes us better.
Maybe it’s our matching personality types. Gabriel and I both need to be challenged. We often need a target, an opponent, a goal and a destination.
Without it, we’re lazy. We have nothing to prove and nobody who draws our interest. We wither and settle behind our masks with no drive to do anything else.
Our years apart proved it.
Without him, I’d succumbed to letting my father rule my life. And without me, he’d lost the spark that makes him unique.
He’d lost his edge and let everybody believe he was the nicest guy in the world.
I lied to you in the beginning. I’d apologize for it, but I don’t feel bad for what I said. It was mostly true.
I don’t entirely hate the monster I see beneath Gabriel’s charming mask because I see the same one staring back at me in my own damn reflection.
That’s fine, though.
I like it that way.
We’ll never stop fighting.
Never stop challenging each other.
And never stop the games we’re known for.
We’ll never stop improving each other until both of us are the best.
Which is why I’m surprised when Emily steps through the open French doors, steps up beside me and drops her phone on the wide handrail where I’m leaning.
“Three days and you’ve already won. Guess this means we can head home now since it’s safe.”
My eyes drag away from the sunset hovering over the distant horizon to snap down to the phone.
“What do you mean?”
Picking it up, I scroll down the article she has open, my eyes growing wider with every new paragraph, distrust unraveling in me because there is no way in hell Gabriel would have done this.
“He’s up to something.”
Soft laughter shakes her shoulders, her gaze focused on the distance where trees rustle in a passing breeze.
“I called Ava. She confirmed they gave that information to the papers because Gabriel is done messing with you.”
Taking a page from Gabriel’s playbook, I’d assigned Ava the task of keeping tabs on the guys. She was told to report the instant they left town because it meant they figured out where I am.
According to her, the guys weren’t doing anything different. Each one went to work and did whatever else it is they do. But none seemed interested in pursuing me.
Not even Gabriel.
“It’s right here in print, Ivy. They leaked it to the media that you broke off the engagement.”
She snorts at one line. “They even claimed Gabriel is depressed about it and won’t get out of bed for anything but work.”
My brow arches at that.
It makes no fucking sense. The fake engagement was Gabriel’s control over me when it comes to my dad and my finances. Why would he give it up?
I scan the article again. Obviously he did this. Nobody else but him feeds the news bullshit information.
Carefully scrawling through each line looking for a cryptic message, I find none and drop the phone back in Emily’s hand.
“He’s up to something,” I say again.
I know Gabriel.
Better than anybody.
He wouldn’t do this without a reason.
Emily shakes her head and brushes the length of her red hair over a shoulder.
“Or he’s letting this go. You wrecked his house, Ivy. And stole his car. Maybe he’s old enough now to realize this will just get worse if you two keep going.”
I think about that. Purse my lips. Glance o
ut over the distance.
“Nope. He’s up to something.”
The only problem is I have no idea what.
“I can call Ezra or Damon. See what they have to say. We’ve only heard from Ava, and she gets limited information from Mason.”
I don’t bother glancing at her.
Emily has been more relaxed these past three days away from the twins. That alone is telling. It pisses me off, actually. What the hell are those two doing to her that can make her so upset?
There’s no telling with them. The twins have always been an issue. Always. And I feel bad I’d encouraged Emily to have fun with them in high school, instead of warning her not to get involved. Even if I had warned her, I’m not sure she would have listened.
Refusing to be the reason she reaches out to them now, I shake my head.
“No. This is between Gabe and me. And it should stay that way. I’ll call him myself. Offer my condolences for the failed engagement. Feel him out.”
While I watch, the sun sets behind the horizon, its dying fire a blaze of color spreading across a cloud streaked sky. Beyond the tree line, nocturnal animals begin their chorus, and I shiver at the memories that sound brings to mind.
“It’s probably best you avoid Gabriel. I can call the -“
My eyes snap her direction.
“What’s going on with you and the twins? You’ve been more like yourself the past three days we’ve been here than you have the past month.”
A question keeps screaming in my head, one I’ve kept from asking, but what kind of friend would I be if I left it alone?
“Are they doing something to you?”
I’ve never seen any physical signs that anything bad is happening. But you still have to worry about your best friend when she’s sleeping with men people call Violence and Anger.
Guessing where I’m going with this, her expression falls, and she blows out a breath.
“Not what you’re worried about. No.”
Suspicion fills me. I can’t tell if it’s because I truly don’t believe her, or that I’m on edge from everything with Gabriel.